Practical Magic

While Alice Hoffman’s novel was first published in 1995, many readers discovered it later after seeing the 1998 film adaptation, Practical Magic, starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman as Sally and Gillian, respectively. The film follows the novel’s plot only loosely, being more inspired by Hoffman’s book than truly based on it. The film has had an unlikely journey to its current cult status. Initially, it was widely panned by film critics, garnering a 23% rating on the review platform Rotten Tomatoes. One of the largest complaints about the film was that it didn’t have a clear target audience. It oscillated between moments of family-friendly wholesomeness and moments that veered toward domestic horror. Financially, it was a box office failure. An interview with director Griffin Dunne revealed his concern that the film may have been cursed by a witch who felt her consulting work on the set had been taken for granted. Dunne, a then-nonbeliever, invested in an exorcism, which contemporary pagans would call an “uncrossing,” to “cover [his] bases” (Shapiro, Lila. “Practical Magic Got Cursed by an Actual Witch. Is That Why It Bombed?” Vulture, 2017).

Despite its challenging beginnings, Practical Magic’s feminist themes and strong matriarchal values—a direct predecessor of 1990s and 2000s magical shows like Charmed—gave it an enduring cult status and a devoted fan base.